Andrew Patterson’s feature film debut was executive-produced by Steven Soderbergh and has been compared to Stranger Things.
It deserves the hype, but is quieter and wonkier than anything created by the Duffer Brothers. Patterson’s UFO has more in common with cult podcast Welcome to Night Vale. At one point the screen goes black and all we can do is listen.
The brain-scrambling rhythms are established with shots of a black-and-white TV. Patterson and scriptwriters James Montague and Craig W Sanger are obviously fans of The Twilight Zone and, via a show called Paradox Theater, beckon us into Cayuga, a small town in Fifties New Mexico, where a lofty smart alec, Everett (Jake Horowitz), is about to explain sound recording to his punctilious acolyte, Fay (Sierra McCormick). He works as a radio DJ. She handles the switchboards at night. While everyone else is attending a basketball game the pair become aware of a weird audio signal.
Cayuga comes alive during two extraordinary tracking shots. In one, we snake through the chaotic school gymnasium; in the other, the camera sprints through empty streets like an animal. The sense of urgency leaves us all of a tingle.
Later, we listen to the stories of two stately, verbose old-timers and their narratives provoke the same kind of delicious agitation. Every sight and sound makes us feel closer to Everett and Fay. Once you’ve encountered THEM, you’ll never be the same.
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